Seminar for OIE National Focal Points for Animal Welfare Tokyo, Japan
(Tokyo, Japan, 30 November - 2 December 2011)
The OIE Regional Representation for Asia and the Pacific organized the Seminar for OIE National Focal Points for Animal Welfare in Tokyo from 30 November to 2 December 2011, back to back with the
Regional Animal Welfare Strategy Coordination Group Meeting (RAWS).
A total of 52 participants attended the seminar, including National Focal Points or their proxies from 26 members in the region and a wide range of resource persons, including the President of the OIE Animal Welfare Working Group, an OIE Collaborating Centre representative, and representatives of non-governmental industry and animal welfare organisations with which the OIE has cooperation agreements.
The participants were provided first of all with information on the role and responsibilities of National Focal Points and Veterinary Services for animal welfare, and a review of relevant OIE international standards. In addition, producer and industry organizations made presentations about their experiences in supporting implementation of OIE animal welfare standards. The killing of animals for disease control purposes and the issue of religious slaughter were also discussed by international experts, prompting active discussion among participants. The RAWS secretariat gave a presentation on the discussion at its Coordinating Group meeting, held just before the seminar, aiming to establish a stronger link between the RAWS implementation plan and members’ national activities.
Substantial time was allocated to small working group sessions. Discussions included: engaging government commitment to improve animal health as a first step to improve animal welfare; increasing community awareness of the wide benefits of promoting animal welfare, such as food safety; taking advantage of support offered by OIE Standards and the OIE Collaborating Centre, including training courses and twinning arrangements; developing appropriate domestic laws and regulations consistent with the OIE Standards; and sharing the same goals rather than harmonizing legislation among members. The participants also stressed the importance of the active involvement of Veterinary Services in development/improving legislation on animal welfare. Improvement of veterinary education to better capture animal welfare issues was also highlighted during the discussion.
At the closing session, the participants were reminded of their important role of reporting back to their Delegates and sharing the knowledge-gained at the seminar among relevant personnel in their countries. Networking and coordination among Focal Points in sharing information and experiences was also believed to facilitate the improvement of animal welfare at national and regional levels.
Presentations
Day 1 |
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| General presentation of the OIE –Objectives of the seminar Dr Itsuo Shimohira (OIE Asia-Pacific), Dr Alexandre Bouchot (OIE SRR-SEA) |
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| Responsibilities of the OIE Animal Welfare Focal Point Dr Mariela Varas (OIE HQ) |
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| Good governance and the evaluation of Veterinary Services(OIE-PVS Tool / PVS Gap Analysis) Dr Alexandre Bouchot (OIE SRR-SEA) |
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| 3rd OIE Global Conference on Animal Welfare,5–9 Nov. 2012 Dr Alexandre Bouchot (OIE SRR-SEA) |
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| The role of the Veterinary Services – issues relevant to animal welfare (incl. veterinary education, stakeholder partnerships) Dr David Bayvel (OIE Working Group on Animal Welfare) |
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| Activities of the OIE Animal Welfare Collaborating Centre Prof. David Mellor (OIE Collaborating Centre) |
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| Report on the Conference of the OIE Regional Commission for Asia, the Far East and Oceania (Teheran, Iran, November 2011) Dr Itsuo Shimohira (OIE Asia-Pacific) |
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| Work of Non-Governmental Organisations in support of the implementation of the OIE animal welfare standards Ms Joanna Tuckwell (WSPA representative) |
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| Producer Organisations: work in support of the implementation of the OIE animal welfare standards Dr Sitthiporn Boorananath (Beef Cluster Co. Ltd, Thailand) |
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Day 2 |
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| RAWS AFEO: Update and Working plan RAWS AFEO: roles and responsibilities; future developments Dr Gardner Murray, Mr Jim Paradice (RAWS Secretariat/Australia) |
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| Practical implementation of OIE animal welfare standards Dr Mohamad Azmie Zakaria (Malaysia) |
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| Animal welfare - Killing of animals for disease control purposes Prof. Mohan Raj (University of Bristol) |
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| Animal welfare- Killing of animals for disease control purposes Dr Rasto Kolesar (WSPA) |
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| Religious slaughter Dr Muhammad Chaudry, Islamic Food and Nutrition Council of America (IFNCA) |
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| Supporting OIE animal welfare standards: Australia's approach Mr Jim Paradice (RAWS Secretariat/Australia) |
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